Electrical socket and adaptor constructions



7 4 5 8 RI 1 Y 4 m E V, l I 1 l N e N 3 E -\FI\-II-\- b M s v H T 9 e A T 3 y A .l. H 6 F In 4 F w v 3 I w. z m 0 9 3 l 4 3 W 3 4 4 3 Jan. 13, 1970 H HILZEN ELECTRICAL SOCKET AND ADAPTOR CONSTRUCTIONS Filed Aug. 2, 1968 United States Patent 3,489,991 ELECTRICAL SOCKET AND ADAPTOR CONSTRUCTIONS Hy Hilzen, 40 Gateway Road, Yonkers, N.Y. 10703 Filed Aug. 2, 1968, Ser. No. 749,871 Int. Cl. H01:- 13/50, 13/54 US. Cl. 339-92 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE One end of a cylindrical ceramic member is fashioned like the fluted, segmentally threaded structure constituting an ordinary screw-cutting die; such thread to receive a lamps screw base. Said dielectric body member has a central hole therethrough, and said flutes continue as lengthwise holes through said body for housing pin or strip metal parts to effect the necessary electrical connections. The structure thus far described serves as a socket per se. To make an adaptor, the ceramic body of the above-described assembly, has an external thread at its other end, to fit into the screw shell socket of an electric fixture, or to have mounted thereon a metal screw shell to fit into the fixtures socket. The metal strip and pin elements effect the required electrical connections. The lamps screw base is smaller than the fixtures socket, hence the need for the adaptor construction.

The present invention relates to socket and adaptor constructions for screw shell base electric lamps.

The principal object of this invention is to provide novel and improved sockets which obviate the use of a metal screw shell to receive the lamp, and to provide novel and improved adaptors which permit mounting a lamp which is designed for a socket of a size different than the one it is to be mounted in, such adaptors to include no metal screw shells. Essentially, the omission of metal screw shells accomplishes constructions which require a minimum of metal parts, thereby attaining great economy in the cost of manufacture and elimination of heat-collecting metal.

A further object thereof is to provide novel and improved socket and adaptor constructions of the character described, which easy to assemble, and whose metal parts are easy to replace, should they become defective.

Another object thereof is to provide a novel and improved adaptor construction, in which no metal screw shell is used for the reception of the lamps screw base, but where technical requirements demand a metal screw shell for reception into an electrical fixture or other outlet.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide novel and improved socket and adaptor construction of the kinds set forth, which are eflicient in carrying out the purposes and economies for which they are designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For the practice of this invention, a socket for the screw base of a lamp, or such socket for the lamp in an adaptor, uses no metal screw shell, because the body of the item in each instance may be a cylindrical ceramic member having a central socket cavity in one end face; said cavity including two spaced longitudinal flutes, preferably diametrically opposite each other; such flutes being respectively in extension of holes which extend longitudinally through said ceramic body, to, and open in the second end face thereof. Said socket cavity is threaded to receive the lamps screw base. Said thread being segmental, the structure of internally threaded end of the ceramic body, is like that of a screw-cutting die. There is a central 3,489,991 Patented Jan. 13, 1970 longitudinal hole through said ceramic piece. Metal pieces set in said holes and their flute extensions, serve to effect electrical connections as needed. The metal element through the central hole is a pin which may have a coaxial compression coil section. The construction thus far described, in association with a suitable casing or mounting member, serves as a socket structure per se. For an adaptor, the ceramic body constituted as above, is provided with an external thread to fit into a fixture socket, or to mount a metal screw shell to be received into said fixture socket; the simple metal parts within the ceramic body being used to effect all necessary electrical connections.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the dielectric body member included in an adaptor embodying teachings of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of FIG. 1, showing a quartz lamp in the socket, and a heat dissipating sleeve carried on the dielectric member.

FIG. 4 is a central longitudinal section' of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of FIG. 1, with a central pin.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of metal parts included in the assembly shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the ceramic body included in the assembly shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of metal parts included in the assembly shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged central section of an adaptor having a base screw shell of metal to fit into the socket of an electric fixture, and composed of the parts shown in FIGS. 1 and 6.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged central section of a modified form of adaptor, employing no metal screw shell, but composed of parts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 11 is a central longitudinal section of a socket embodiment per se, in accordance with teachings of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a modified form of mount for socket parts shown in FIG. 11.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 designates generally a cylindrical ceramic body member whose upper portion is formed in the manner of a screw threading die, since its formation includes the segmentally threaded thread hole 16, caused to be segmental because of flutes 17, 17'. The threads are of a size to receive the screw shell base 18 of an incandescent lamp 19. Said flutes extend lengthwise through the entire length of said ceramic body. A central hole 20 through said body, opens into the threaded portion, and carries a pin element to be contacted by the central button terminal of the lamps screw base; such button being indicated at 21, insulated in known manner from the lamps metal screw shell 18. For connection to such screw shell, the ceramic body 15 carries metal strip members through the flutes 17, 17.

The structure thus far described may be recognized as constituting the socket construction shown in FIG. 11, where the ceramic body is designated generally as 15', the central pin element is indicated by the numeral 23, and the metal strip elements are denoted as 24, 24'. For the connection of leads to such socket, there are the screw terminals 25 and 26. The numeral 27 is a metal casing part in releasable threaded engagement with the complementary casing part 27', the latter being removable to make connections to said terminals 25, 26. Instead of the casing part 27', the casing part 27 may be fitted into a flanged threaded shell 28, to be mounted on a surface by means of screws through the holes 29. The

hole 30 is for passage of conductors for connection to said terminals 25, 26.

To utilize said socket structure scheme in an adaptor, the ceramic body is exteriorly threaded. In the adaptor construction shown in FIG. 9, such thread indicated by the numeral 31, is for mounting a metal screw shell 32 which has as necessary, the centrally positioned contact element 33 insulated therefrom by dielectric 34. In the modified adaptor construction of FIG. 10, said thread indicated by the numeral 35, as does the screw shell 32, fits into thefemale screw shell of a socket of an electrical fixture, not shown.

In all instances, the pin through the central longitudinal hole in the ceramic body, which pin is for contacting the central terminal 21 of the lamp 19, may be of rigid wire as 36 with a head 36, or of resilient material as 37 with a. compression coil spring section 37'. The teat 38 on the head, may be included for making the actual contact with the lamp terminal 21. Also in all instances, meaning whether for socket or adaptor constructions, the strip material conductors through the longitudinal flutes, for connecting the base screw 'shell 18 of the lamp, with ultimately the female screw shell of the electric fixture socket, or as the second terminal in the socket of FIG. 11, has bends as at 39, 39' which extend into the threaded hole receiving the lamp base of 19, into the ceramic body member. The strip material used for 24, 24', in the socket of FIG. 11, and those marked 40, 40' used in the adaptor of FIG. 9, and those indicated as 41, 41' used in the adaptor of FIG. 10, are all of similar scheme. The strips 40, 40 have the respective feet 42, 42' which extend through diametrically opposite notches 43, 43 in the ceramic member 15, and each meets the interior surface of the screw shell 32, where it is soldered thereto, or frictionally held. The strips 41, 41', terminate in hooks 44, 44 at their lower ends, which pass through the diametrically opposite notches 45, 45 which are up from the bottom in the ceramic members, to a ring bead 46, which said hooks engage as shown in FIG. 10.

The numeral 15" indicates the ceramic body member in the adaptor shown in FIG. 10, which may carry a metal heat-dissipating jacket 47. A similar jacket 48 may be provided on the ceramic body member 15 in the adaptor shown in FIG. 9.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown herein shall be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive, and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth.

I claim:

1. In an article of the character described, a cylindrical dielectric body member having an axial socket at one end of relatively large diameter and communicative with a coaxial relatively small diameter hole longitudinally through the remainder of said body member; the interior surface of said socket being threaded to receive the screw shell base of an electric incandescent lamp; said internally threaded socket having at least one longitudinal flute in its wall; said flute continuing as a passage through the body member alongside and spaced from said small hole, a resilient metal strip positioned through said passage and into said flute; said strip having a bend which normally extends into the space to be occupied by the screw shell when it is screwed into said threaded socket whereby said bend will contact said screw shell, a metal pin fixed to the body member, positioned through said small hole in the body member and extending into said threaded socket, to be contacted by the central contact elemen of the screw shell base of the lamp, and means away from said threaded socket for making connections to said pin and strip respectively, whereby the article constitutes a socket for a lamp of the character described.

2. An article as defined in claim 1, wherein said pin is of resilient material and a section thereof is formed as a. compression coil spring; there being space around the coil in the body member allowing said spring to be compressed when the lamp base is mounted in the threaded socket.

3. An article as defined in claim 1, wherein the body member is elongated and its other end is exteriorly threaded, a metal screw shell member threadedly engaged on said exteriorly threaded end of the body member and having a central contact element exposed on the outside thereof, insulated from such screw shell member; said pin being connected to the last-mentioned central contact element; the strip being connected to said last metioned screw shell member; the thread of such screw shell member being of a different diameter than of said threaded socket in the body member, whereby the article constitutes an adaptor to power the lamp from a socket of an electrical fixture into which the last mentioned screw shell member is adapted to be screwed into.

4. An article as defined in claim 3, wherein the pin is of resilient material and a section thereof is formed as a compression coil spring; there being space around the coil in the body member allowing said spring to be compressed when the lamp base is mounted in the threaded socket.

5. An article as defined in claim 3, wherein the strip has a lateral extension at one end, which extends into the screw shell member on the body member and is in frictional contact therewith.

6. An article as defined in claim 1, wherein the body member is elongated and its other end is exteriorly threaded to be screwed into the socket of an electric fixture; said strip having a lateral extension through an opening in the body member and extending to said exterior thread, adapted to contact the screw shell of a socket of the fixture when said exteriorly threaded end of the body member is screwed into such fixture socket; said pin terminating in a central contact element as the threaded end of the body member, to contact the central terminal element of the fixture socket, where said article constitutes an adaptor to power the lamp for the fixture socket the exteriorly threaded end of the body member is adapted to be screwed into.

7. An article as defined in claim 6, wherein said body member is provided with an external peripheral bead at said external threads; said lateral extension of the strip terminating in a hook; said hook engaging said head.

8. An article as defined in claim 7, wherein the pin is of resilient material and a section thereof is formed as a compression coil spring; there being space around the coil in the body member allowing said spring to be com pressed when the lamp base is mounted in the threaded socket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 991,185 5/1911 Weeks 240- 3,011,049 11/1961 Kinghorn 240-1O MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner LAWRENCE J. STAAB, Assistant Examiner U-S- X-R, 339-167 

